Enrico was born in Preci, Italy in April 1900. He was the fifth of seven children of Ascanio and Venanza Sgriccia. He was the youngest of the four boys. Most of you know him as Uncle Henry.
The Sgriccia Brothers – Cherubino, Mariano, Antonio and Henry
The exact date of Henry’s birth is a little confusing. This is a common occurrence back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Henry’s newspaper obituary states April 23rd. His Social Security death record states the 25th. His WWII draft card says the 26th. I go with the 26th since that is the one document that Henry filled out himself. It seems the family celebrated his birthday on the 23rd of April. My logic loses.
We aren’t sure if Henry served in the Italian Army in WWI. He would have been the right age. Military service was mandatory for young Italian men – Cherubino and Mariano each served two years in the Italian Army before they permanently moved to the U.S.A. Italy tried to stay neutral in WWI but did limited fighting toward the end of the war, so it is probable that Henry was never required to serve.
In August of 1922 Henry and his younger sister Genegilda (Aunt Mary) left Preci and traveled to Naples to board the S.S. Taormina which set sail for New York. They arrived in the U.S.A. on September 1, 1922. Interesting tidbits on the Passenger Manifests show that Henry was on his way to see his brother Cherubino, but Mary was off to see her brother Mariano – both in Clymer of course. They were both 5 feet 4 inches. Henry was listed as a merchant or clerk.
We assume that Henry started working at the “Sgriccia Brothers Market” immediately after arriving in Clymer. This would easily make him the longest active employee of the store – 1922 through 1970. In 1927 Henry was apparently instrumental in winning first place in the Clymer Labor Day Parade.
As for the smartly dressed girl in this photo, we have it on good authority that she is not the future Mrs. Henry Sgriccia.
We do not know who the people are in the above photo.
The above photos were supplied by Henry’s granddaughter Susan. The incredible design of the parade float imitated the displays in the store. From what we have uncovered, Henry was the one person responsible for the exciting and very visual displays. No wonder the Labor Day Float won 1st Place.
We have also learned that Henry was a master at putting together fruit baskets that he would deliver to family and friends that were either sick or to celebrate a special occasion. Besides the fruit, he had a knack of using Hershey’s Kisses to really make his baskets special and memorable.
Henry married Irene R. Seman on December 6, 1936. The 1940 US Census shows that they were married and lived on Franklin Street near Sixth Street and that they lived in the same place in 1935. In 1930, Henry was single and living with Cherubino and Augusta.
Henry and Irene had one daughter – Margaret better known as Peggy – and two granddaughters, Susan and Elizabeth.
Researching the local newspapers, we find Henry was very active in the community – active in fundraising activities and other community affairs. He was a charter member of the Clymer branch of the Kiwanis Club. He was also an avid golfer. I would need to write another (and longer) article to cover the golf tournaments where Henry participated and the number that he won.
Henry retired in 1970 when they sold the store. However, his involvement in community affairs and his love of golf did not stop. He continued to be active in the Christmas Tree production at “The Farm”, having taken over those duties when Cherubino died in 1964.
Henry died on October 8, 1977 and is buried at Saint Anthony’s Catholic Cemetery in Clymer. Irene died in 1990 and is buried next to Henry.
We would like to thank Henry’s granddaughter Susan for reaching out and sending us the store photos. I know you readers enjoy these old photos. Do you have any to share?
Update July 28, 2020
While researching a new article, I found a newspaper article that mentioned the Clymer Labor Day Parade float featured above and that the prize money was $25.00. Does not sound like much – but then I Googled: “1927 money today” and the answer was $370.40.
I then went back to the Indiana county newspapers and found a Sgriccia Bros. advertisement. I will not bore you with the entire list nor the spreadsheet. In short there were meats, canned goods, soap, coffee, eggs, crackers, etc. If I had bought one of everything in the advertisement the total would have been $3.34. So, my $25 would have allowed me to buy all the items about 7-1/2 times.
Next I called up my local Kroger webpage and priced the same items per the 1927 ad. The total was $57.15. If I went to Kroger 7-1/2 times then I would spend $427.77.
That $25.00 prize would feed a family quite comfortably and for quite a while.
(Sidebar: The food item that changed the least: eggs – $.39 to $.59, The most – cocoa powder 1 lb.: $.15 to $9.99.)
Sgriccia 